The Difference a Year Makes
by Shiva-J
Summary: What if Jane met Tom in her freshman year prior to Daria's arrival in Lawndale?
1. Pt 1

**The Difference a Year Makes**

"You know that just a year ago if anyone had told me that I'd be where I am right now, I'd have just looked at them funny before walking away without saying a word."

"Why?"

"Because," Jane replied to her boyfriend as he stretched out on her bed, "I'd have thought they were insane."

Tom Sloane chuckled, "Well welcome to Crazyland Ms. Lane. You can leave but never check out."

"That's an Eagles song young Thomas."

They both shared a laugh just as the last of the commercials ended, bringing back on the local news.

Normally neither one of them would have bothered having the television set on, since Sick Sad World wouldn't be on for another hour, but apparently today was the day that they were going to air a piece on the Lawndale track team.

"...And turning to local sports. The Lawndale High Track team continues it's winning streak with star runner, Jane Lane beating her own speed record by 8 seconds."

"Wow!" Tom exclaimed, "8 seconds?!"

"Yup." Jane answered with some modesty.

Tom grinned before kissing her cheek and saying, "And just think, if you hadn't taken my joke about 'proving your crappy gym coach' wrong about being lazy, you wouldn't be on TV."

"And facing a lot more ass-kissing at school tomorrow." Jane reminded him.

"Well there's always a dark lining to every silver cloud."

Then the reporter showed a short interview they had conducted with Jane, it was just a few seconds of nothing, but Jane couldn't help but admit (if only to herself) that it was kind of cool to be seeing herself on the tube.

She found herself thinking about how much everything had changed in her life. She wasn't sure if meeting Tom had been the thing to set it all in motion or not, or if it would have all just happened on it's own anyway.

_"Well,"_ Jane contemplated, _"If you had actually bailed on helping Monique as a roadie at that club in Oakwood, you'd have never met Tom and that would have sucked."_

It wasn't everyday that you meet someone with a similar, caustic, outlook on life. In fact Mr. Sloane had been the very first person she had ever encountered that was really on the same wavelength as herself.

_"And after that your Freshman year at Lawndale just went by in a flash."_ Jane reminded herself, since that year had been them bonding first as friends and then as something more.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's open!" Jane called out.

Her door opened and Amanda Lane's head popped into view.

"Hello Janie," the Matriarch of the Lane clan said in her whispery voice, "I'm going out for some groceries, I'll be back in an hour, kay?"

"Ok Mom, see ya later."

Amanda just smiled before darting back and shutting the door behind her.

_"What a difference a year makes."_ Jane pondered with wonder. Since up until recently her parents followed 'the butterfly' philosophy of parenting. Which translated into letting her and Trent raise each other amidst dwindling resources and cash.

However when Tom's parents had gotten wind of her situation, they had proved surprisingly helpful in tracking down her wayward parents and forcing them to take a good, hard look at what their kids were enduring due to their globetrotting ways.

Granted her father was still a globetrotter, but that was due to his job as a photographer and he did make it a point to come home whenever her could.

Amanda on the other hand made enough contact with reality long enough to decide to settle her roots in Lawndale, at least until Jane was old enough to depart.

Their finances were much more stable now, especially since her parents weren't sending their older brood anymore cash to piss away. The strings were cut and they had to make it completely on their own now.

"Well Trent's still here," Jane mouthed to herself, "But he at least isn't a selfish prick like the others."

She did wish that he'd get his act together, but there weren't any flying pigs outside so Jane didn't bother holding her breath.

She briefly wondered why she was thinking about the past but then dismissed it, after all everything did have a surreal edge to it and some part of her was still expecting the other shoe to drop.

_"Relax Jane,"_ she told herself, _"You don't know what the future has in store, just go with the flow and see where it leads."_

So with that affirmation Jane leaned on Tom and endured the news, waiting for Sick, Sad World to air.


	2. Pt 2

**The Difference a Year Makes (Pt. 2)**

"Oh Jane," Siobhan said with a laugh, "You always know the right thing to say."

"It's my gift," Jane replied while shutting her locker, "And besides, Gordon's a jackass. You shouldn't let him get to you."

Siobhan nodded before getting a sly look on her face and saying, "And speaking of guys getting to people..."

Jane had just enough time to do a double take before a familiar figure approached them, he leaned on a nearby locker nonchalantly and said, "Hey, what's going on?"

"Not much," Jane answered for the two of them, "Just getting ready for class."

"What about you Evan?" Siobhan asked with a smirk.

"Still waking up," he admitted, "But seeing the two best looking ladies on track is perking me up."

Siobhan giggled while Jane just shook her head.

"Flattery gets you nowhere."

Evan conceded that with a nod, "Yeah, but I can't help but sing your praises, Jane. Oh and you too Chipmunk."

"Hey!"

Both Evan and Jane laughed. "Just yanking your chain Siobhan." Evan assured her.

Siobhan deigned to forgive his transgression, since she hated that dumb nickname (but never gave a thought to changing the hairstyle that inspired it), and said, "Well, I'm sure that seeing you suffer at today's practice will make me feel better."

All of three of them winced in remembered pain, since the first week back in Lawndale High, the head coach of the track team, Ms. Morris had already pulled her favorites from last year to the side and shanghaied them into a rigorous training regimen for next spring.

"We're all going to suffer Siobhan," Evan stated as a matter of fact, "But on the bright side I've heard rumors that Brittany's going to throw a big party at her place."

"...And it'll be busted by the cops." Jane cut in.

"...Good point." Evan conceded.

"Maybe we should have a little shindig of our own?" Siobhan suggested, "Something just for the track team, somewhere that isn't going to result in a night in the drunk tank."

"I think we should all sleep on that." Jane replied just before the warning bell went off, letting everyone know that there were only a few more minutes before the start of classes.

As the three of them walked off for first period, none of them had noticed the arrival of a new girl in an ugly green coat during their conversation, she had fiddled with her newly assigned locker to get the combination memorized and had taped up a small picture of the Hindenburg disaster before shutting it and walked in the opposite direction towards the administration offices, she had a tour group to join.

* * *

In the back of Mr. DeMartino's class, Jane Lane found herself impressed with the new girl. What was her name again? Dora? Dara? Daria?

"Daria, right." Jane muttered even as she found her attention drifting again, since Mr. D had told the new girl to stop showing off, she hadn't bothered to speak and the class returned to it's usual, dull stupor.

Jane made a note of what they were reading up on today, intending to ask Tom all about it later and opened her sketch pad and flipped to a blank sheet and made a brief, preliminary sketch of the new girl.

It was done with a piece of charcoal and was more of an impression of her appearance than anything. Everything about the girl from her glasses, to her ugly bulky green coat, down to the combat boots screamed of armor.

Screamed of a person who valued their personal space, to the exclusion of ordinary mortals.

"Hmm... Kind of reminds me of me." Jane mused to herself before adding, "Well, reminds me of the _old_ me."

That thought did give her a moments pause, after all how much really had changed?

_"Well,"_ Jane thought to herself, _"I still like pizza, Sick Sad World, I love my art, my big brother, and making sarcastic remarks..."_

_"But..."_ She added to the thought-process, _"Last year I barely gave a damn about my parents, now me and Mom are bonding since she's on the same continent. Not to mention joining Track and having everyone like my commentary on High School and the freaks that inhabit it."_

The image of a boy with sea-green eyes and dark-brown locks came to mind.

"...and Tom." Jane added in a small whisper.

Just in time for the bell.

It took her a minute to pack everything away, not having been paying attention meant that she hadn't gotten everything prepped up beforehand. So Jane Lane found herself one of the last to leave the classroom.

She briefly wondered if she should approach the new girl, but found Daria long gone, so she shrugged it off.

"Doubt she'd want my company." Jane concluded.

Then she spotted Jennifer, the one on the track team and said, "Hey!" and began talking.

Forgetting all about the girl in the ugly green coat completely.


	3. Pt 3

**The Difference a Year Makes (Pt. 3)**

Even though Jane knew that Brittany's party was bound to get busted by the cops, she and Tom found themselves at an utter lack of anything else better to do.

"You sure that we can't just go back to your place gross your sister out with fake making out sounds?" Jane asked Tom as they got their first look at the snack table, with two kinds of potato chips.

Tom shook his head, "I wish, but my cousin Tristan's in town."

"And that's bad, how?"

"You remember that one stuffy, upper crust party I took you too during the summer?"

Jane shuddered silently, that night had been nails on a chalkboard even with the help of Trent's 'special stash'.

"Tristan is pretty much _that_ all year round."

Jane didn't say anything, but she did grab herself a heaping helping of potato chips to fortify herself.

"Yeah," Jane drawled, "I think we should party hearty here, and then go back to my place once we're certain that Trent and Monique have passed out and my mother is safely in the basement at her kiln."

Tom smiled slightly, "Well I didn't think you'd want to try and match Trent and Monique's record, but I'm willing to give it my college best."

Jane laughed, "Easy future Bromwell alumni, I didn't mean it like _that_... I mean it's not like I'm not interested or anything but..."

"It's ok Jane," Tom reassured her, "I was just joking."

"Oh, ok then." Jane replied, still embarrassed.

Tom just smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

Then nearby the sleazy voice of Charles 'Upchuck' Ruttheimer III drifted their way.

"Why, hellooo my lonely damsel, my name is Charles Ruttheimer the third..."

A flat, monotone replied, "And to what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"

"Oooh, feisty!" Charles growled as was his way.

Tom and Jane turned to watch Upchuck's latest attempt at picking up a "fine, luscious lady", which unusually for a party like Britt's was a girl in an ugly green coat, combat boots, and huge glasses.

"How'd she get an invite?" Jane pondered aloud.

Tom snarked, "She probably dissected Brittany's frog."

Upchuck in the meanwhile had asked the girl for her name, and was given the answer of 'Esmeralda'.

"That's not it," Jane said quietly, "But lets see if Upchuck jives to that fact."

The answer to that question however was ambiguous, since Charles then offered 'Esmeralda' a tour of the house.

"If I wanted to tour anything with an annoying kid with a pompadour haircut, I'd have stayed in Highland." the girl answered harshly before walking away from a momentarily dejected Charles.

However true to form, he shook it off and then spotted the two of them.

"Sloane!" Charles exclaimed, "My old pal, what brings you here among the plebs?"

Tom indicated towards Jane, "We wanted to see the future of Middle Class America up close."

"And the takeaway is, the country is screwed." Jane added.

Charles laughed, "Oh, your wit always brings joy to this young Don Juan's heart Ms. Lane."

"Well how did Don Juan get into the party this time?" Jane couldn't resist asking.

At that Charles seemed to deflate a bit and answered in a more normal voice, "I dissected Brittany's frog."

That made both of them chuckle.

"Then how did Daria get invited?" Jane asked between chuckles.

"I think she did Brittany's art project for her." Charles answered.

"I'm surprised," Jane replied honestly, "She doesn't seem like the time to help someone for a party invite."

Charles shrugged, "Who knows? People can surprise you in the most bizarre ways."

Jane would have responded to this but all three of them heard a high pitched screech that didn't belong to the hostess of the event.

"Darrreeeaa! Here's some cash, just get away from me! You're making me unpopular!"

"And whining about it isn't?" Tom quipped as pretty much everyone did their best to see what was happening without seeming to do so.

At the center of the tableau was that girl again, and she had clearly been talking to those three guys that everyone just called 'the Three J's' since they hung out together and all had the same first letter in their names. The screecher was a red-headed girl in trendy clothes that Jane knew had just moved to town and was becoming the most popular of the Freshman girls.

She just couldn't for the life of her remember the girl's name.

"Are they related or something?" Tom found himself asking.

Jane shrugged as Daria accepted a surprisingly fat wad of cash, "Dunno. I don't really know them."

"Yeah they are," Charles answered as Daria made a beeline for the door, "During the assembly for the Self-Esteem graduates, ("I skipped that." mouthed Jane) Daria thanked that girl, Quinn for her sisterly support."

"Those two are sisters?!" Tom exclaimed with disbelief, "I don't see it."

"There are weirder families out there." jane reminded him with a nudge to his side, "And speaking of which, mine should be all nice and distracted by now, so what do you say we blow this popsicle stand and go to Casa Lane?"

"Sure." Tom replied.

"Feisty!"

Tom and Jane just looked at Upchuck for a minute before Jane tsked, "What are we ever going to do with you?"

Charles began to open his mouth, no doubt to say something at least semi-sleazy, but he was interrupted by the front door bursting wide open and an irate old man barging in with a cop in tow, yelling about the noise.

"Whatever it is, it'll have to wait until we escape Johnny Law." Tom answered quickly as they began backing away from the now panicking crowd.

"I've got a car," Charles spoke up, "I can drive you lovebirds away."

"We'll take it." Tom replied.

Jane shrugged, "Works for me. Now follow me, I know a way around the back."

As she then began to lead them through the Taylor's tacky nouveau riche mansion, she found herself thinking that she hadn't quite expected the night to end like this.

_"I thought that they party would have been busted sooner,"_ Jane thought, _"Much less that Upchuck would be here."_

But during those rare times when she and Tom bumped into him together, Jane was willing to admit (if only to herself) that the kid was more tolerable.

_"If he would just drop the act and behave more like a human being, he'd get further with the girls."_ Jane found herself thinking once again as they reached that handy side door and found it unlocked.

"How'd you know this was here?" Charles asked as they stepped out, the sounds of the police arresting protesting teens in the background.

"I was here for the party before this," Jane answered, "Siobhan showed me the escape route when we were forced to flee."

He thought that over as he in turn began leading them to his Cadillac, "Oh right, Chipmunk and Britt have been friends on and off since preschool."

Jane nodded and added, "Don't call her Chipmunk. She hates it."

"Then why does she put her hair up into those buns?" Charles asked as they reached the makeshift parking lot.

"I've never asked." Jane admitted as they found the poor Cadillac that Charles had painted pink and altered into 'fashionable pimp'.

"And as we make our escape," Charles began in a mock-tone, "Shall I give you the guided tour of the twisted place that is otherwise known as Lawndale?"

"Oh what the hell, it'll make the night more interesting." Tom replied as he and Jane climbed into the back.

As the three of them began to drive away Charles began with, "To your left, the home of the town director of public works, built on unstable landfill. To your right, a flattened squirrel. Straight ahead, the future!"

_"And whatever I can work up the nerve to try."_ Jane thought to herself, feeling her stomach do flip-flops at the notion she was toying with putting into motion with Tom.

For a fleeting moment Jane thought she saw a flash of green on the sidewalk due to the headlights, but dismissed it.

Especially since her attention was then taken up by Tom resting his hand on her knee and her debating on if she should let him keep it there or not.

She settled on yes.

* * *

_Note: And this marks the conclusion of this particular AU._


End file.
